U.S. stocks delivered an average 10.1% annual return from 1926 through 2025, outpacing Treasurys (3.3%) and roughly 3% inflation. But strategists cite high valuations and heavy concentration in a few mega-cap tech names, with Research Affiliates projecting just over 3% annualized for the S&P 500 over the next 10 years. They say diversification—potentially beyond a market-cap weighted S&P 500 approach—could matter more for investors with shorter time horizons.

The IMF said Monday the Bank of England could keep its 3.75% Bank Rate unchanged for the rest of the year, while remaining prepared to cut if conditions weaken. It warned that higher energy prices tied to the Iran war may lift headline inflation this year and complicate policy, even as it upgraded the U.K.'s 2026 growth outlook and raised its 2025 growth forecast to 1% from 0.8%.

Options tied to the U.S. bond market saw a surge in activity Friday as 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields climbed to the highest levels in more than a year. Trading in iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) ran at more than three times the past month’s average daily volume, led by put buying that positions for a drop in TLT and higher yields.

Berkshire Hathaway reported major changes to its U.S. equity portfolio under CEO Greg Abel, including a $2.6 billion position in Delta Air Lines and a 224% increase in Alphabet shares. The quarterly filing shows the Delta purchase totaled 39.8 million shares by the end of March, while Berkshire also cut Chevron, exited Amazon, and sold Mastercard and Visa. In early Monday trading, Delta and Macy's rose in premarket while Alphabet and Amazon dipped.

Kevin Warsh is set to face internal pushback at the Federal Reserve if he presses for interest-rate cuts, as inflation is accelerating and Treasury yields are rising. Recent FOMC comments have emphasized keeping the door open to possible hikes, creating a tougher backdrop for any easing push. Observers say Warsh may focus early on changing the Fed's communications to reduce perceived signals about the next policy move.

Global oil inventories are being drawn down quickly to offset a major Middle East supply disruption, and could approach record lows by the end of May if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. UBS estimates stockpiles fell from just over 8 billion barrels at the end of February to 7.8 billion by end of April, with a potential drop toward 7.6 billion by end of May. Analysts across firms warn that prices may need to jump to curb demand before inventories reach levels that would strain the supply system.

On Saturday, the UAE said its decision to leave OPEC and OPEC+ was driven by national economic priorities rather than politics, while reiterating a commitment to market stability. The country previously said it would exit OPEC on May 1 after being a member since 1967. Oil prices rose Friday, with Brent July futures closing up more than 3% at $109.26 a barrel and WTI June futures settling up more than 4% at $105.42.

U.S. ethics filings show President Donald Trump bought Palantir shares in early 2026, then later praised PLTR on Truth Social. The documents list purchases of $247,008 to $630,000 in the first three months of the year, including up to $530,000 across at least seven buys in March. The filings also show sales, including as much as $5 million on Feb. 10, alongside trades in Nvidia, Amazon and Apple.

Cerebras Systems surged in its Wall Street debut on Thursday, ending its first session with a market cap just under $100 billion before trading lower on Friday. The company sells dinner-plate-sized custom ASICs and says its WSE-3 is 57 times larger than the biggest GPU and packs 50 times more transistors. Cerebras also runs its chips through its own cloud data centers, with a $20 billion OpenAI cloud deal running through 2028 and sales said to be booked out into 2027.